Mike Whaley:Husson duo went from foes to friends and teammates

In the last match of their high school volleyball careers, Aleta Johnson's Nute High School team beat rival Hannah Olstad's Farmington squad for the 2008 NHIAA Division III state championship.

The following fall the two former foes enrolled at Husson University in Bangor, Maine, and have been volleyball teammates ever since.

Good friends, too.

Their impact on the Eagles NCAA Division III volleyball program has been equally impressive. In the four years Johnson and Olstad have been at Husson, the volleyball team has gone 67-42 overall and advanced to at least the North Atlantic Conference semifinals each year.

Earlier this month, the Eagles earned their first-ever berth to the ECAC Division III tournament, losing at Western New England College in the first round and finished the season with a 16-11 record.

“With Hannah, I actually got a call from her coach, Jenn Kuehl,” said Husson coach Pat DeBeck. “She said she had a kid looking at Husson I might be interested in. She mentioned she was a six-foot hitter and I said I'd be down in a heartbeat.”

DeBeck's visit happened to fall on a Nute-Farmington grudge match during the 2008 regular season in Farmington.

DeBeck was talking with the Nute coach, Jim Knowles, as well. Knowles mentioned he had a setter who was interested in physical therapy. It went from there.

“I got a middle hitter and a setter from that one match,” DeBeck said. “It was a good day for me.”

And certainly a great day for Husson.

Johnson and Olstad knew of each other during their high school playing days, but did not personally know each other. Once at Husson, it was comforting for each woman to have someone they knew during those early days. In addition, their parents befriended each other, often traveling together to Bangor for matches.

“We joke all the time,” said Johnson, who lives in the same dorm with Olstad and the two attend some classes together. “We're best friends in college, but you wouldn't believe we didn't know each other in high school.”

Olstad had an immediate impact as a middle hitter at Husson, playing all four years at that position. She earned All-NAC honors four years straight, the last three as a first-team pick. In 2011 she was Husson's first NAC volleyball player of the year.

There was a senior setter when Johnson came in 2009, so she had to bide her time, getting some action as a 5-foot-4 outside hitter.

“I thought I'd just be shagging balls, but I really liked it,” Johnson said. “Being so short, I didn't get a lot of hits.”

Late in the season the senior setter got hurt. Johnson stepped in at the position she excelled at while leading Nute to two straight undefeated D-III titles and accumulating over 1,000 assists.

Her final three college years she has been a fixture at setter, earning All-NAC honors as a sophomore (second team) and senior (first team). Johnson closed out her career with a 1,858 assists, as well as 512 digs and 207 service aces.

One of those assists came in the 2012 NAC semifinals against arch-rival Maine Maritime Academy on Nov. 2. It set up Olstad's 1,000th career kill.

The Eagles lost the match, but getting to that milestone (a Husson first) was a big deal for both women.

“Getting my middle hitter to 1,000 is an accomplishment for me as well,” said Johnson, who is majoring in occupational therapy. “We did that together.”

“It was a great way to end the season,” Olstad said. “It took a bit off the loss. It was a good way to go out.”

Olstad's final numbers are impressive: 1,012 kills, 400 digs, 302 service aces and 207 blocks. In addition to her many volleyball honors, last week Olstad was named the Clara Swan Award winner as Husson's 2012 female athlete of the year.

One crystal clear memory for both women came against Maine Maritime during the 2012 regular season. The match was tied at two games apiece and the fifth game was deadlocked at 14-all.

Johnson got a bloody nose during the tying point, but refused to come out of the match. A timeout was called and the blood flow temporarily stopped.

“We all kind of freaked out,” recalled Olstad, a physical therapy major and two-time team captain. “We called timeout and one-minute later she's back on the floor.”

Husson won the game 18-16 and the match 3-2, its only win over MMA in Johnson and Olstad's four years at Husson.

“It was the best moment of my volleyball career,” Johnson said. “I stopped (the bleeding) long enough to finish up the game.”

Coach DeBeck is quick to praise both for their contributions to the volleyball team's growing success.

“They've both played really significant roles for the program,” he said. “Hannah's leadership and confidence blossomed during her junior year. Last year was the year where it all fit. That light-bulb moment was last year for her.”

As for Johnson, DeBeck said, “her biggest thing was finding her voice. She's a quiet kid, so we had to make her more into a floor leader. She's the little kid with the big serve. She packs a hard, good serve. She sets well. She came in with Hannah and they have grown up through the program together.

“There's a lot of firsts with these guys,” DeBeck said. “They're responsible for building a good base for the future.”

“We got to achieve so much the last four years,” Olstad added. “I'm sad it's all over.”

Mike Whaley is the Sports Editor for Foster's Daily Democrat and the Rochester Times. He can be reached at mwhaley@fosters.com.